Photo: londondrum.comUseful things to know before your visit
Address: King’s Gallery, Buckingham Gate Road SW1A 1AA. Telephone: 0207 766 7300. Website: rct.uk
How much do the tickets cost?
During 2026: Adult £22, young adults (aged 18-24) from £14, and children (5-17 years) from £11. Infants under-5 are free – During 2027: Adult £24, young adults (aged 18-24) from £15, and children are from £12.
What are the opening hours?
Opening times are 10am to 5.30pm (Mon-Sun). Last entry is 1¼ hours before closing time.
How much time do you need?
A typical visit to the King’s Gallery takes 45 to 60 minutes.
Which buses go to the King’s Gallery?
Bus routes 11, 211, C1 and C10 all stop close by.
Which is the closest train station?
The nearest station is St. James’s Park, which connects with the Circle and District lines. You can walk the ⅖ mile to the King’s Gallery in about 8 minutes.
Which other attractions are nearby?
These attractions are all within 15 minutes walk of the King’s Gallery: Buckingham Palace, Royal Mews, Wellington Barracks, Guards’ Museum, Green Park, Westminster Cathedral, St. James’s Palace, Wellington Arch, Apsley House and St. James’s Park.
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The Royal Collection contains over a million different manuscripts. drawings, paintings, tapestries, ceramics, sculptures and pieces of furniture, jewellery and armour. The Royal Family has been collecting it for centuries and passed it down through the generations to decorate their palaces and mansions.
Some of their earliest acquisitions date from the reign of Henry VIII but it only really got going under Charles I when he started buying up old Italian masters. Every monarch after that indulged their own interests – James I added the manuscripts, George III got hold of forty Canalettos, and George IV snapped up some French furniture and porcelain during the post-Revolution fire-sale.
After four centuries of collecting it’s grown to become the largest private art collection in the world and contains everyone from Raphael, Rembrandt, Vermeer and Van Dyck to Caravaggio, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Around 7,000 of the best pieces are on permanent display inside Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court and the Tower of London, and you can see another 400-500 in a series of temporary exhibitions at the King’s Gallery.
Photo: londondrum.comThe exhibitions usually run for about six months each and are themed around a particular subject or period of history. In the past I’ve seen everything from Georgian wedding dresses and Faberge eggs to pages from Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks.
Photo: londondrum.comThe architecture of the first room is a bit bland but the next two are coloured up in the same deep greens and velvety reds of Buckingham Palace – then all of a sudden it’s over. That is literally all you get: three big rooms plus a couple of tiny little side-rooms. But that’s not to say it’s not worth a visit, because I do enjoy it whenever I go. Just don’t expect it to fill up an afternoon because you’ll be lucky if it fills up an hour.
Photo: londondrum.comThey also have a nice gift shop at the end selling all sorts of Royal souvenirs from porcelain plates and china cups to teapots, chocolates, gin and teabags.
Bear in mind that the gallery has a habit of selling you a timed ticket during busy periods so if you’re one of those people who maps out every second of your day then prepare to abandon your plans, because you might turn up at noon and be told to come back at two. The best thing to do is to buy your ticket online in advance because then you can choose a time slot yourself.
They’ll also offer you a more expensive ticket which includes entry to the Royal Mews and Buckingham Palace (they call it a ‘Royal Day Out’). But I think it’s a total waste of time doing the King’s Gallery on the same day as the palace because you’ll see the best of the Royal Collection in there anyway.
I’ve ranked the King’s Gallery as ★10 in my top 10 London galleries
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What do you think? (4)
Ask a question, or share your experience of the King’s Gallery
H Bunnock Is it worth going or not? (reply)
Craig Hi H Bunnock. It’s definitely one of the smallest galleries in London, but I suppose it all depends on what they’ve got on. It’s all temporary exhibitions, so if you’re interested in the subject on show then it’s worth going. But if I was minded to pay for a gallery then I’d probably go for the Courtauld instead. (reply)
Jack&Mags Hi! Is it necessary to book beforehand? (reply)
Craig Hi Jack&Mags. If you’re on a tight itinerary then I would recommend booking because it’s all timed tickets. You might turn up at 1 PM and be given a ticket to return at 2 PM. So I would try booking online beforehand. (reply)
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